Government in a bind over Centre’s papers on EC UES
Decision on finalisation of Polavaram tenders today, may go to Transstroy

A Ravindra Seshu, The Hans India, 6 Jan 2012

Hyderabad: The tender controversy of Polavaram – Indira Sagar irrigation project took another twist after the Union Ministry for Foreign Affairs wrote a letter to the state government stating that the experience certificates submitted by EC UES, a partnership company of Transstroy and which stood as L-1 in the third round tenders, as authenticated one.

Highly placed sources said that the state government received the letter from Union Ministry on Foreign Affairs (UMFA) two days back. In the letter, the UMFA said that it enquired all the allegations levelled against EC UES and found no truth in it. It said that the first secretary in Indian Embassy in Russia Ganesh enquired about the complaints against EC UES and uncovered the facts.

The first secretary informed the same to UMFA by giving all the details of the company in Russia. Further, he reliably said that the experience certificates submitted by EC UES were authenticated one. Basing on Ganesh’s letter, UMFA had written a letter to the state government, sources said.

But, the letter from first secretary of Indian Embassy in Russia, Ganesh is contradictory to the letter sent by Dilbagh Singh, another first secretary in the same embassy office there. Dilbagh Singh, in a letter to the engineer in-chief of Andhra Pradesh earlier, stated that the experience certificates submitted by the same company EC UES as unauthenticated. The contradictory statements of the two first secretaries in Indian Embassy turned the real issues now. Union Ministry of Foreign Affairs ignored Dilbagh Singh’s statement and accepted what Ganesh said.

The higher officials who have been looking after the Polavaram tender issue are confused with the contradictory remarks by two first secretaries in Indian Embassy.

The state government received the letter ahead of the High Power Committee meeting to be held on December 26 to decide the fate of Polavaram tenders. The High Court may also give its final verdict on it on the same day.

In this backdrop, sources said that the government may award the contract to Transstroy due to various reasons. State government is facing embarrassment since long over the Polavaram tenders and it had decided to end the row by taking a certain decision on it.

The government had already stated that it saved Rs 663 crore of the public money by finalising the Polavaram tender to Transstroy, which quoted Rs 4054 crore against assessment cost of Rs 4717 crore. Sources said that the government has to call fresh tenders if it cancelled the present one and it may opt for awarding the tender to Transstroy-EC UES